A new version of an OS is released with some new basic features added and the world rushes in to know what ‘the new stuff’ is. A new phone is released with a bump in specs, with the same previous OS and everyone gets excited about what the future holds.
This is the mantra of the online blogosphere, well at least with the top tech blogs around the world.
What sometimes they fail to realize is that people want choice, more choices translates to more competition in the business circle, which means more convenience and benefit to the consumer.
I am of the view that some blogs out there are trying to sideline some competitors. This will have a negative impact on the consumer and on the market because the consumer’s lack of interest will lead to a decline in the choices they have in the long run.
Let’s take the example of the newly released MeeGo phone the N9. As we here previously stated that Nokia CEO mentioned clearly that MeeGo will be the ‘future disruption’ and we can see this clearly in the phone released.
Touch it with the speakers and the music automatically starts playing through them. Secondly, there are no touch sensitive/virtual buttons. No home, Back & Menu keys, nothing, everything is based on touch & gestures.
If you want to see how the button less interface of the future will look like, this is it. But what the ‘people’ are saying is that MeeGo is DOA (Dead on Arrival).
Let’s focus on the near future, the choice you are soon going to be offered with the updated Microsoft Windows Phone 7 OS.
Here is what this OS can offer you, based on the leaked review & information published by Microsoft.
| WP7 Mango | Apple iOS 5 | Android Froyo/Gingerbread |
| Tiles with dynamic updates | Grid of Icons with 4 static ones at the lower end, Pull Down Notification | Static icons + live widgets, Pull Down Notification |
Customization
| WP7 Mango | Apple iOS 5 | Android Froyo/Gingerbread |
| Colors of tiles + Background images | Multi-Level customization (requires jailbreak) | Complete App Launcher & interface can be tweaked. |
OS Built-in Main Features
| WP7 Mango | Apple iOS 5 | Android Froyo/Gingerbread |
| – Integrated contacts + Contact Updates – Aggregates images from All sources – Xbox Live integration – Office 365 – Sharepoint – Spreadsheet – Presentation Software – Documents – Notes – QR Code Reader – Tag Reader – Tasks – Restaurant Finder – Local Scout – Facebook & Live Messenger – Calendar (integrated with Outlook & Facebook Events) – Internet Explorer – Bing Maps (with Turn by Turn Navigation) – Alarms – Calculator – Skype – Music Search – Camera Image Search – SkyDrive – Parental Controls – Facial Recognition – Bing Vision – Bing Audio – Quick Cards – App Connect – Photosynth | – Dictionary – iMessage (like BlackBerry Messenger) – Newsstand – Safari – Integrated Contacts – Game Center – Reminder – Alarms Calculator – Camera App with Basic photo editing – Calender – AirPlay – Weather – Facetime – Personal HotSpot – AirPrint – Maps & Navigation (without turn by turn navigation) – Voice Commands – Search – Youtube – Compass – iCloud (Backup/Cloud service) | – Gmail + Gmail integration – Browser – Gtalk + Video Chat. – Calendar – Integrated Contacts – FM Radio – Alarms – Calculator – Full featured Google Maps (Latitude/Navigation) – Location Checkins – News & Weather – Youtube – Portable HotSpot – SIP Calling – Flash 10.3 – Android Car Home Screen – NFC Support – Gallery – Voice Commands – Voice Search – Youtube – Google Sync – App + Settings Backup – Google Search |
This is what you will get when you turn on a Windows Phone 7 device for the first time. A complete, integrated experience, out-of-the-box. All of the others have Apps that can perform these takes but look at what you get.
You don’t pay for any of these and you get extreme smoothness and performance as the OS supports all these by itself.
It’s beyond my understanding why all the negative hype? I may have missed some things here and there but just look at this, WP7 is new compared to the competition, it has low market penetration and just two updates so far (NoDo & Mango) still it has managed so much.
So be ready to get more, future aggressive updates and hardware from Nokia.
A complete smartphone experience doesn’t just depend upon the in-built apps but the User Experience, Hardware & Eco System. Microsoft + Nokia have worked to do but the point here is this: “You are the consumer, you have the right to know your choices and remember WP7 is one of them, a strong one.”
